This invention generally relates to a system for monitoring the structural integrity of an item. More particularly, this invention relates to a system for obtaining electro-mechanical impedance information to determine structural integrity of a chosen item.
Structural health monitoring is important in various industries. One example is the aerospace industry where mechanical flaws or the signs of upcoming mechanical flaws are important to locate and address. One hindrance to effectively conducting such monitoring on an ongoing or regular basis is the relatively expensive equipment and cumbersome procedures that are currently required.
One advance in this area has been the implementation of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric sensors that provide information regarding the item""s structural mechanical impedance spectra. As known in the art, measuring the frequency impedance spectra using PZT sensors requires the sensor to be secured to or embedded within the item of interest. A major difficulty is presented by the need to communicate information from the sensor to a diagnostic tool that provides an output meaningful to a technician or other professional who is monitoring the structural condition of the item. Physical connections between the sensor and other equipment have always been required.
Such physical connections make the use of such sensors of limited value in many circumstances. For example, a gas turbine engine has many moving parts and many sensors would be required for an effective monitoring arrangement. Introducing multiple sensors, however, included the need to introduce multiple hardwired connections or other physical connections to other devices within the system This is impractical given the nature of a turbine engine, for example. Not only is the task cumbersome or impossible, but it proves to be overly expensive, susceptible to hardwired connection failures and renders the use of such sensors impractical under many circumstances.
There is a need for an effective structural integrity monitoring system that can utilize the information gathered with piezoelectric sensors. This invention addresses that need and avoids the shortcomings and drawbacks of the currently proposed or implemented arrangements.
In general terms, this invention is a system for monitoring the structural integrity of an item. A piezoelectric sensor is supported on the item of interest. A resistive element is coupled in series with the piezoelectric sensor. A signal conditioner conditions a signal that has a component that is indicative of a voltage drop across the piezoelectric sensor. The series connection of the sensor and the resistive element provide the ability to derive such information in a reliable manner. A transmitter transmits the conditioned signal to a remote location, preferably using wireless communication. At the remote location, an interface receives the transmitted signal and provides an indication of the structural integrity of the item based upon the information within the transmitted signal.
In one example, the piezoelectric sensor is a PZT sensor that is bonded to the item of interest. A sine wave generator preferably provides the voltage that is applied across the series connection of the resistive element and the piezoelectric sensor. The transmitter and interface device preferably communicate utilizing radio frequency signals.
The various features and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the currently preferred embodiment. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows.